An 82ac holding at Graiguenamanagh, Co Kilkenny sold under the hammer of Ed Donohoe making €847,000 or €10,300/ac.

A grass and tillage holding the place is located 3km from Goresbridge and 2km from Graiguenamanagh. It has been rented for a number of years and while, in the main it is top class grazing ground it has one field of 10ac in tillage.

Some of the land is of poorer quality with a portion of about 3.5ac in scrub and a 10ac parcel made up of heavy ground. The holding has 1.5km of road frontage giving plenty of access.

On the day, Ed Donohoe initially offered the place in a variety of lots but the crowded auction room showed no interest in the smaller parcels.

A bid of €600,000 got the entire off to a flying start and at €680,000 Ed Donohoe consulted with the vendors and returned to the room. Bidding continued until the place was put on the market at €725,000.

However, matters did not rest there. The two bidders, a local auctioneer acting for what was believed to be a local farmer and an accountant acting for another, battled it out in bids of €1,000 and €2,000 until the hammer eventually fell at €847,000.

Image: Donohoe Town and Country

Ed Donohoe was delighted: "It was a great auction," he said.

"The place made €125,000 over the guide and even this masked the per acre price for the good land which extended to about 68ac."